Interested in talking about Stanford's 24-23 upset of USC in Los Angeles last season and the Trojans' desire to get some payback for the historic defeat? Go ahead. Just don't ask the teams involved to contribute to the discussion.

"It's a game that has to be played," Stanford coach Jim Harbaughsaid on the weekly Pac-10 call.

"I expect fire in their eyes and I expect fire in our eyes," Harbaugh said. "I know (USC coach) Pete Carrollwould expect nothing less and I would expect nothing less of our team. That's the way football games are played."

Carroll said his team has too much at stake to be playing for payback. The Trojans are vying for a Pac-10 title and a top spot in the BCS pecking order.

"I hope it's going to be a very emotional game," Carroll said. "We want everyone to be like this. This being a Pac-10 championship situation, we're going to give it everything we've got. I'm not worried about finding motivation or anything. We'll be jacked up and ready to play."

"We're not thinking about revenge or playing Stanford," May said. "We just have another team to prepare for. The fact it's Stanford is just a name."

Gerhart improving: Stanford tailback Toby Gerhart, who needs 68 rushing yards to reach 1,000 for the season, said his injured right upper hamstring is improving. The injury, incurred in the first quarter against Oregon on Saturday, limited his time in the game and he finished with 21 yards.

Injury updates: Fullback Owen Marecic (high ankle sprain) is going to work this week toward getting back on to the field against the Trojans, Harbaugh said. ... Running back Jeremy Stewart, who has missed the last two games after a stomach virus, is also back this week. ... Backup safety Taylor Skaufel has a broken foot and will miss the rest of the season. Skaufel's injury could take up to six months to heal.

Briefly: Stanford is expecting a sell-out crowd for Saturday's game. Approximately 300 tickets are available. ... To date, no one has asked for his or her money returned as part of Stanford's "Gridiron Guarantee," the money-back guarantee offered at the beginning of the season.